Florida's pioneering Blue Alert system model for federal bill

It's been nearly a year since Keith Gorski last put on a West Palm Beach police uniform, strapped on his riding helmet and mounted his Harley to stop an erratic speeder.

A collision with a stopped vehicle during the pursuit Nov. 23 sent Gorski tumbling 120 feet, causing broken bones and a traumatic brain injury, said fellow officer Sgt. Joe Luciano.

The motor officer's severe injuries prompted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to issue its first Blue Alert, a statewide notification system — based on the Amber Alert and Silver Alert models — that informs the public when an officer has gone missing in the line of duty, has been killed or seriously injured and the suspect is on the loose.

"The goal of this program is to put out the maximum amount of information in the shortest amount of time to find the people responsible," said Keith Kameg, an FDLE spokesman.

Florida pioneered the Blue Alert system in 2008, when Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order permitting authorities to use technology such as text alerts, email and highway signs to broadcast suspect information in these serious cases. That executive order became state law last year.

Since Florida adopted the Blue Alert system, 16 other states have followed suit — including Texas, Maryland and Colorado, which have some of the highest numbers of law-enforcement fatalities on record, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

An incident has to meet certain criteria before an alert is activated. In addition to harming a law-enforcement officer, the suspect must pose a serious public threat, and authorities need identifying information such as a vehicle description or tag number for wide dissemination.

A Blue Alert request goes to FDLE's central dispatch center and is then relayed to regional communication centers.

Preliminary 2012 data show 99 officers have been killed nationwide this year compared with 134 during the same period in 2011.

Through the lobbying efforts of law-enforcement fraternities, organizations such as the National Police Wives Association and individuals such as Florida resident Tom Berry, lawmakers are considering a bill that would establish a federal Blue Alert system to integrate state programs and speed up communication.

The National Blue Alert Act of 2011 passed the House of Representatives and has been placed on the Senate calendar for a vote later this year.

"If a person is willing to shoot a cop, they are willing to kill any civilian, and we are trying to get them off the streets," said Berry of Venice, who is the founder of the Blue Alert Foundation. A disabled Army veteran, Berry said he was bored and looking for a higher calling than watching Oprah every day when he heard about the system in 2008.

Before a bill was sent to Congress, Berry devised the first national notification system through a website, BlueAlert.us, where the public can sign up for updates through text, email or other media.

He sets his alarm to go off every 90 minutes, 24 hours a day "in case something happens," and checks Google alerts for any breaking news about fallen officers across the country.

Berry has more than 150,000 Twitter followers (@BlueAlertUS), including governors, celebrities and journalists. He says it's a public-safety issue for him.

"Every 72 hours an officer is shot," he said. "If [a suspect] has no respect for an officer, he has no respect for me or you."

Kameg, of FDLE, said past incidents prove the public is well-positioned to help law enforcement.

"Our hope is it will only be used twice, but the reality in today's society is people will try to hurt law enforcement," he said. "This just gives us one more tool to apprehend those people."

Miami-Dade police Officer Herman Joseph's assailants were caught and linked to several crimes, including murder in a case that prompted the second Blue Alert ever issued.

Joseph was volunteering at a church Sept. 22 and was shot in the chest while three men were committing a robbery. The officer managed to call 911 and give a description of the getaway vehicle, which led to a manhunt, said Lt. Danny Villanueva.

Willie Barney, Travares Santiago and Dedrick Brown were arrested the next day. Officer Joseph is recovering and expected to be back to work soon, Villanueva said.

Florida residents can sign up for instant notifications at bluealert.imarcsgroup.com/